The Hindu : National : Congress sidesteps Soren issue

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Tuesday, Jul 20, 2004

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National

Congress sidesteps Soren issue

By Our Special Correspondent

NEW DELHI, JULY 19. The Congress today preferred to sidestep the issue of whether the Union Coal Minister, Shibu Soren, would be asked to step down if he failed to get relief from the court against the arrest warrant issued against him.

Emphasising that the party had full faith in the rule of law, the Congress party's new chief of the media department, Girija Vyas, said the "whole matter is politically motivated" and it related to a 1975 agitation for the rights of tribals.

Assisted by the spokesperson, Abhishek Singhvi, Ms. Vyas said that in February 2002, the Bharatiya Janata Party Government in Jharkhand had announced that it would withdraw cases against those named in the tribal agitation of 1975, but it did so "selectively."

Reacting to the issuance of a non-bailable warrant against the Union Minister, the two leaders said he was not an absconder.

Noting that the warrant could even be cancelled by a higher court, they wondered how an arrest warrant had been issued against a Union Minister, that too on a Saturday night. "Was the Minister an absconder or were there apprehensions that he will run away? That is political vendetta ... a case has been resurrected after 29 years," Mr. Singhvi said.

The party also charged the Opposition with politicising the Congress president, Sonia Gandhi's announcement of a relief package of Rs. 1 crore for the families of the Kumbakonam fire tragedy victims. It alleged that the BJP "lacks sensitivity" on the issue.

Asserting that Ms. Gandhi's announcement was "constitutionally and politically correct," the party spokesman, Anand Sharma, said it was "unfortunate" that the BJP was trying to politicise the issue.

He said Ms. Gandhi went to Kumbakonam to empathise with the members of the bereaved families and merely announced the package already sanctioned by the Prime Minister, Manmohan Singh.

Ms. Vyas rebutted the BJP allegation that Ms. Gandhi's announcement reflected her "dictatorial" attitude and said the party had a habit of levelling allegations.

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